# Why do some Republicans use "Democrat" as an adjective? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2006, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392 "2006-11-07T04:30:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/21 "2006-11-07T13:30:59Z")
[QUOTE=Starving Artist] (Are rolleyes allowed in this forum?) [/QUOTE] Yes. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/22 "2006-11-07T13:43:40Z")
Why do some Democrats call Republicans “Repugs”? ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/23 "2006-11-07T13:51:35Z")
[QUOTE=yoyodyne] Why do some Democrats call Republicans “Repugs”? [/QUOTE] Because they’re immature. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/24 "2006-11-07T13:58:55Z")
[QUOTE=Starving Artist] No, you’ve got it backwards. I said (and thanks to the New Yorker article I’m no longer necessarily of this opinion) that I have made it a practice to refer to the party of the left as the Democrat party because I felt it was the accurate way to say it, and that the proponents of using “the Democratic Party” or the “Democratic candidate” were doing so in an effort to piggyback the positive connotations of the word democratic. [/quote] But the name of the party always has included the word “Democratic.” So why do you think “Democrat Party” is the accurate name for the party? Pure ignorance? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/25 "2006-11-07T14:14:21Z")
[QUOTE=Starving Artist] No, you’ve got it backwards. I said (and thanks to the New Yorker article I’m no longer necessarily of this opinion) that I have made it a practice to refer to the party of the left as the Democrat party because I felt it was the accurate way to say it, and that the proponents of using “the Democratic Party” or the “Democratic candidate” were doing so in an effort to piggyback the positive connotations of the word democratic. [/QUOTE] The Democrats weren’t using “democratic” to piggy back on the positive connotations of the word. They were trying to speak English. The Republicans somehow got it in their minds that voters are so retarded that they would think “if one party is the democratic party, the other party must be fascists, or communists, or something undemocratic”. One can’t criticize how adept the Republicans have been over the last 10 years at controlling the political vernacular, but in this particular case, just admit they just took it to an absurd point. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/26 "2006-11-07T14:26:49Z")
I believe in the Golden Rule and that you should not call others what you know full well offends them. Dems, Pubs, and Pubbies are inoffensive shortcuts as far as I know and I use them. I don’t use Repugs or Rethugs in general, though I may have slipped on occasion. Democrat Party is perceived by Democrats to be snarky, so good manners on the part of the Pubbies should dictate that they not use it. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/27 "2006-11-07T14:50:23Z")
[QUOTE=DaveRaver] According to my dictionary, “Democrat” is a noun and “Democratic” is the adjective. However, I hear many Republicans referring, for example, to “the Democrat senator from New York.” Is it that “democratic” has too much of a positive sound to it (you wouldn’t want to be undemocratic!) or do they like how much Democrat sounds like Democrap? [/QUOTE] Perhaps they _are_ using it as a noun. “The Democrat congressman from Ohio…” “The Bengal quarterback Carson Palmer…” ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/28 "2006-11-07T15:13:03Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] But the name of the party always has included the word “Democratic.” So why do you think “Democrat Party” is the accurate name for the party? Pure ignorance? [/QUOTE] Yes, as I explained earlier…several times. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/29 "2006-11-07T15:41:06Z")
[QUOTE=BobLibDem] Pubs, and Pubbies are inoffensive shortcuts as far as I know [/QUOTE] You might ask a Republican. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/30 "2006-11-07T15:52:13Z")
[QUOTE=Starving Artist] Yes, as I explained earlier…several times. [/QUOTE] Then that’s pretty appalling. Here is an organization that’s been around over two centuries, with its correct name printed everywhere, yet you don’t bother to even look at their name and automatically accept a usage that was coined by their opponents and has only been used for less than a decade. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/31 "2006-11-07T16:35:12Z")
Coined, my ass! Each new post of yours shows that you haven’t even bothered to read what I’ve said in this very thread. I personally have used the term as far back as the sixties, and I wasn’t brainwashed into it by evil Pubbie machinations. Further, I don’t bother to go through life checking the etymology of commonplace, everyday words such as Democrat/Democratic which I’ve seen/read/heard interchangably thousands of times for fear that said usage may not be the factually correct one…especially in what to me is such a minor and inconsequential matter in the first place. Having said that, however, don’t you think it’s more than a little petty to continue with the insults once someone has acknowledged that his ignorance has been fought on a particular subject and that he stands corrected? Rather poor form on your part, I’d say. (And btw, thanks, **Frank** , for answering my question on the use of rolleyes in this forum.) ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/32 "2006-11-07T17:23:29Z")
Many Republicans use “nucular” as an adjective, and you’re worried about the “ic” in Democratic? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/33 "2006-11-07T17:34:12Z")
[QUOTE=Antigen] Pssst, both words have “rat” in them. [/QUOTE] Well OK. But only one has the _syllable_ “rat” in it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/34 "2006-11-07T17:36:29Z")
[QUOTE=interface2x] Because they’re immature. [/QUOTE] Correct answer. However, I will be more concerned about this when I see major news outlets start using it, as some of them will do on occasion with “the Democrat party.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/35 "2006-11-07T19:00:02Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Maybe ‘democratic’ gets abbreviated simply because it can be a bit of a mouthful in the contexts being discussed? I’m pretty sure ‘democrat’ is the more common option for names of parties in other English-speaking countries. [/QUOTE] Nah, it’s the Republicans being snarky. For no good reason really. The name of the party is the Democratic Party. It has always been the Democratic Party. And since it traces its name back to the Democratic-Republican Party of the late 18th Century its fair to say that “Democratic Party” is older than “Democrat” itself. Now if the Republicans want to start calling me a “Democratic” instead of a “Democrat”, go right ahead … . ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/36 "2006-11-07T20:14:03Z")
In response to the OP, noun forms (as opposed to adjectival forms) often carry a pejorative or dismissive connotation: “my Jew brother-in-law” versus “my Jewish brother-in-law” or “the woman Senator from Maine” versus “the female Senator from Maine”. I think this form may be at least partially in play. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/37 "2006-11-07T20:24:31Z")
You know, **Starving Artist** , I owe you an apology. It’s the election that’s stressing me out, not our disparate views of the proper use of “Democrat.” I don’t see it your way but I didn’t need to get snippy. Sorry about that. This morning I saw a sign by the road that said “Had enough? Vote Democrat.” It looked wrong, but I didn’t mind. I still reserve the right to use the word “dysphonious,” though. There’s something euphonious about it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392/38 "2006-11-08T01:52:31Z")
[QUOTE=E. Thorp] You know, **Starving Artist** , I owe you an apology. It’s the election that’s stressing me out, not our disparate views of the proper use of “Democrat.” I don’t see it your way but I didn’t need to get snippy. Sorry about that. This morning I saw a sign by the road that said “Had enough? Vote Democrat.” It looked wrong, but I didn’t mind. [/quote] What a nice surprise upon returning from work to find your gracious apology, **E. Thorp**. I appreciate it very much. I’m glad you saw the sign too. I really don’t think that in most cases those who say Democrat in place of what is rightfully called Democratic are doing it out of malice. I think Democrats and Republicans both do it as a result of either ignorance or confusion as to the proper term, due at least in part as a result of signs such as the one you saw today. [QUOTE=E. Thorp] I still reserve the right to use the word “dysphonious,” though. There’s something euphonious about it. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Mellifluous too. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-republicans-use-democrat-as-an-adjective/379392.md?page=1)